


At A Glance

by acciolunas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, a couple more people show up, idk what this is apart from gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 17:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13862559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acciolunas/pseuds/acciolunas
Summary: Claire meets a mysterious girl while working a case, and spends some time running into her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this like three years ago or something and i finally decided to put it on here so here we are  
> pls comment! i live for comments

Claire's car broke down just as she reached the motel. Well, it wasn't really her car. She got it from the gas station she walked to when the last one ran out of gas in the middle of the highway. Claire sighed and stepped out of the car, ready to push it to a parking spot. She started pushing, then stopped when the car didn't seem to move.

"Hey, need any help?" she heard someone call. Claire turned to look at the speaker. She was a girl who looked about her age. She wore mostly dark clothes and had a bit of plaid poking through her leather jacket.

"I'm fine, thanks," Claire replied. She didn't want help from any of the locals.

"You don't look fine," came the voice. She sounded amused. When Claire turned to look at her, she was leaning on a tree with a smirk on her face.

"Well, I am."

"Hasn't your car broken down?" Claire turned to look at the dump she was calling a car. It was spotted with rust and the doors rattled when she drove. "Listen, I'm just offering a helping hand," the girl continued. "You looked like you needed it."

Claire was about to decline but looked the girl over. She seemed like she genuinely wanted to help. Claire hoped she wouldn't regret this decision and invited the stranger to help push her car.

"So where'd you get this car anyway?" the girl asked, walking toward Claire. "No offense, but no car dealership I know could ever sell this junk." They both got to work pushing the car.

"Do you honestly want to know?" Claire responded. She glanced sideways at the girl who looked like she was in on an inside joke that no one else knew.

"Definitely."

***

They got the car to an out-of-the-way parking spot way sooner than they expected. Claire was a little tired and hoped she would get her hands on some other way to get back to Jody's place once she was done with this hunt. The girl was eyeing the motel strangely and Claire found herself wondering who exactly she was.

As she turned to go, Claire asked, "So what's your name?"

She turned around, the same amused smile on her face, but didn't stop walking away. "I didn't think you'd want to know."

"Well if you don't tell me I'll have to make up one for you." She shouted a bit at the end. The girl turned back around, smiling and shaking her head. "Well?"

Some time passed before she turned around briefly. "Sapna," she spoke. Then she vanished into the fog that was rolling in.

"Sapna," Claire repeated to herself. She turned to her room and started walking. "Wonder if we'll meet again."

***

"What!" Jody exclaimed on the phone. "What do you mean you stole a car? Claire, I let you go on this hunt because I thought you wouldn't do anything stupid."

"I didn't!" Claire defended herself. "I was stuck in the middle of a highway. I didn't really have options."

"Just - okay," she breathed deeply. "Claire, just - I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm a Sherriff - but just don't get caught."

"I'll try," Claire responded.

"Bye, and good luck."

"Thanks.

"And, Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself."

Jody hung up and Claire placed her phone on the nightstand. She was chasing up a lead that Donna found and informed Jody about. Neither of them could go hunting because they were both Sheriffs and couldn't take surprise holidays of unknown lengths of time. Jody was originally going to call the Winchesters, but school was off, so Claire volunteered, and convinced Jody after a week of… well… of nagging.

She looked at the desk, which, along with some fat books on lore and her laptop. Her duffel bag of weapons sat on the single bed. She was tired, to say the least, after a whole day of driving. She figured she'd go to a diner… which she would have to walk to, she realised as she closed the door to her room. She was pretty sure she saw one quite close to the motel while driving in. Three hours ago. You know, before the car broke down. She put her hands in her pocket and started walking.

***

The diner was lively, for nine pm. She didn't think so many people would be out eating at such a late hour. She took a seat and ordered a burger.

"Well I'll be damned," someone said. Claire turned around to see Sapna walking towards her. She was wearing a uniform, which meant she worked at the diner. "It's broken car girl." Sapna pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

Claire scoffed. "That's not my name."

"Well if you don't tell me I'll just have to make one up for you," Sapna shot back.

"Claire."

"Nice name."

"So you work here?"

"Sapna!" a loud voice came, carrying over the conversations that were already taking place and the music. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a break," she replied. 

"Your break ended half an hour ago." The speaker was a balding man who Claire assumed was the owner of the diner. He looked a bit intimidating, probably because of his tall stature.

"Yeah. So I deserve one now," Sapna quipped.

"Sapna, that's not how breaks work."

"Yeah it is. I take a break when I want one."

"Sapna-"

"Winston, I am talking to a cute girl; please leave me alone."

Cute? Claire took a moment to ponder the statement and it appeared so did Winston. Then he shook his head at Sapna and walked off, muttering to himself.

"I-" Claire started.

"Let's not talk about that, broken car girl," Sapna interrupted. "Tell me about yourself. What are you doing in town? This isn't really a tourist spot."

"I'm just passing through," Claire replied.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I probably won't be staying long."

"Well," Sapna said as she wrote something down on a napkin, "if you need anything, call me." She stood up. Claire glanced at the number on the napkin. 

"Actually, there is something you can help me with," Claire said. Sapna raised an eyebrow in question. "You know the murders that have been happening?"

"Yeah."

"What do you know about them?"

"Bit too curious for someone who's just passing through."

"Humour me."

"We had five in the past two weeks. Body drained of blood. Like a vampire, I guess. You know, if you believe in that stuff," Sapna answered. "They've got more stuff at the morgue. And the police officer in charge of the case is Paige Elliot, if you want to know more."

"How do you know that?"

She smiled softly. "I have my secrets, Claire, just as you have yours."

"I'm an open book," Claire argued.

"Are you really?" She gave her one last glance and returned to her work.

As Claire sat eating her burger, she wondered about the victims, about how to find the possible vamps. And Sapna. Claire thought she knew more than she was letting on. Either that or she was very good at pretending to know things she actually didn't. When Claire finished her meal, Sapna brought her the bill, smiling as always. But Claire realized that it wasn't a happy smile. Perhaps Sapna was hiding something. Perhaps… it was about the murders? But if Sapna knew anything she didn't let on. Claire gave her $20 as a tip. They brushed their fingers together. Then Claire smiled awkwardly and walked away.

***

She woke up early in the morning and left for the diner that she ate at the night before. She was honestly looking for Sapna. She thought she might know more than she was letting on.

But when Claire arrived at the diner, Sapna was nowhere to be seen. She ordered a breakfast of bacon and pancakes and ate quickly. Perhaps Sapna just didn't work mornings. She was about to leave when she overheard whispers of a conversation, and decided to stay for a few more minutes.

"Don't be ridiculous." The speaker had a light, chime-like voice. "Hunters will find us here. They're probably on their way now. They always find us. We need to start moving now."

"They think we're dead." The second voice was deeper, more gravelly.

"This isn't like the Feds. You don't understand, I know. But it doesn't matter what they think. It matters what they hear. And what they'll hear is a bunch of killings in the place we're living."

"We're not vamps, Ellie. We don't kill people for food. We haven't done anything wrong! Why do we have to run? Again?"

"Because we're not human. And as long as we're not human, they have reason to kill us."

"They won't kill us if we don't kill people."

"Yes they will, Ray. That's what they did to my parents." The speaker's voice shook. Claire identified her as the one with the long, blue hair.

"Your parents killed people," Ray pointed out. "We shouldn't run. It makes us look like we're guilty."

"If we stay, the only thing we'll be looking like is dead."

"We could lead them to the vamps."

"We don't know where the damn vamps are. Listen, we can discuss this at home. I don't feel comfortable talking about this in public." Ellie stood up and Ray followed. They left their money on the table and left quickly and quietly.

Claire waited for about a minute, and then followed. She was sure they knew something about the killings from the way they were talking. And they sounded like they were afraid of hunters, which put her at an advantage. The pair was almost out of sight for the majority of the time she was following them, but didn't seem to realize they were being followed.

***

They finally came to a stop outside a two-story house. Ray dug through his pockets for what Claire assumed was a key. He soon found it and opened the door so he and Ellie could step through. Claire walked up to a window and looked in. It was clear that Ray and Ellie were talking about she had no idea what they were talking about. Ellie looked distressed and was expressing herself more freely with her wide gestures. It looked like she might have been shouting, but it wasn't loud enough for Claire to be able to hear them. After some consideration, she decided to leave and return later if she thought it necessary.  
She instead went to the local police department posing as a journalism student investigating the murders.

"Excuse me," she said to the man at the counter. "Can I talk to the officer in charge of the murder case?"

"Who are you?" he didn't look up and continued typing something on the computer he was at.

"I'm from the university of Georgia." Georgia. Really? "I was assigned this case for my project."

"They got you doing projects now?" He looked up, the frown lines a constant on his forehead.

"Yep. So can I see the officer or not?"

He sighed a bit dramatically. "Sure. Paige Elliot"

So Sapna was right, Claire thought as she looked for that officer. She saw a door with the name as a labelled and knocked once before entering.

"Paige Elliot?"

"Who are you?" Her feet were on the table and she was drinking some kind of juice.

"I'm Claire. I wanted to ask you some questions about the murder case you're on. It's for a school project," she added quickly.

Paige Elliot took her feet off the table and sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"The victims… is there any connection between them?"

"None that we've found yet."

"And what was the cause of death?" Claire pretended to take notes. She really just drew circles.

"Bodies were drained of blood. We're thinking it was animal attacks."

"But they weren't in the woods, were they?" Claire looked Officer Elliot in the eye.

"No," she admitted. "Honestly? We don't know what the fuck happened. It was all near this bar-"

"Which bar?"

"Fresco's. It's in the middle of the town."

"Any suspects?"

"Kid, I don't know if you've been listening to me. They died 'cause their blood was drained. Holes on their necks. It-"

"Like a vampire?"

Paige Elliot laughed. "Sure. If you believe in that crap. Just tell the vampire police to get their vampire outlaws in our jail." She shook her head and motioned for Claire to leave. "Vampires."

Claire stood up and turned to leave. "Sure." She opened the door

***

It was afternoon. And it was pouring. And Claire was caught out without an umbrella. She really hadn't expected any rain but she figured she should have known better. It was September, after all. She walked quickly and kept her head down.

"Help!" Someone was screaming. Claire turned her attention to the voice and followed it into an alley. There was a man holding another man to the wall. From a distance, it looked like they were having a… private… moment, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that one of them was trying to bit the other's neck way too violently.

Shit, Claire thought. Neither of them had seen her yet. She drew her knife from her bag and started to move towards them quickly and quietly. She knew that vamps had better ears than humans, but she figured it wasn't paying particular attention to her.

The other man slumped against the wall and his movements grew slower. Claire felt her heartbeat in her throat and she tightened her grip on the knife, running towards the vamp and its victim.

"Let go of him," she screamed, pulling him off of the man and slamming him against the wall. The other man crumbled, clutching at his throat and taking deep breaths. The vamp laughed. She held the knife to his throat. "Where the hell is your nest?"

He shrunk away from the knife at his throat, pressing himself against the wall. "Like I'd tell you, hunter." He spat in her face.

Claire resisted the urge to wipe it off. That would require letting go of him and that would give him an opportunity to escape. She held the knife closer, slicing a bit of skin. "You're telling me or you're dying."

He struggled, but not too much. Claire's knife was so close to his throat that it started to bleed every time he moved. "You won't find them if you kill me." He gasped desperately.  
"Yeah I will." She cut his head off and stepped back, letting his body and detached head fall to the ground. The rainwater washed the blood into the drains. She regretted not getting any information out of him, but he would have warned the others and made her job harder. Besides, she thought, I would have killed him either way. The other man was staring at her afraid but full of awe. "If you tell any-"

"I didn't see anything," he proclaimed, standing up and walking out of the alley. His hand was still held up to his neck. The blade Claire held was clean as if she had never killed the vamp, but its remains told a different story. She decided to go back to her motel room.

***

"You killed a vamp?" Jody asked. "How was that? Did you get caught?"

"No!" Claire exclaimed. "I'm good at this."

"I still don't like that you're being a hunter."

"Well I am." She took a bottle of water out and took a few sips. Her hair was almost dry when Jody called her up.

"But it's a nest, right?"

"I think so. It's a lot dead for just one vamp. They don't need that much blood alone."

"So how're you gonna find this nest?"

Claire thought about the couple that claimed to be shifters. "I have something in mind."

"The way you say that worries me."

Claire laughed. "Don't worry too much. It's not that dangerous."

"I would prefer not dangerous at all."

"In this line of work-"

"Don't lecture me about hunting, Claire."

"Okay fine, fine. I won't do anything that will get me killed."

Jody sighed. "Be careful."

"Bye mom," Claire teased, hanging up.

She turned her attention to the bed and went to sleep.

***

When she woke, it was dark outside. She decided to return to the diner. In part for food. In part for Sapna. She threw on a dry pair of jeans and a tank top with flannel and left with the motel room key in her pocket and a knife tucked away in her boot.

The diner had warm yellow lights, Claire noticed. And Sapna was there, gliding between the tables with a notepad and pen in her hand.

"Broken car girl," she noted, arriving at Claire's table. "Here for dinner again?"

"Yes," Claire nodded. "I'll just have a cheeseburger, please."

Sapna smiled and wrote down the order. "Anything else?"

"Coke."

"We have Pepsi." Claire wanted to say that Pepsi was fine, but Sapna had already written the order down and disappeared into the kitchen.

She reappeared about two minutes later with Claire's order and set it down on the table. 

"Hey Sapna?"

"Hmm?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about vampires, would you?"

"Of course not," she smiled like she was telling a joke, "Vampires are purely fictional." She turned to leave.

"Sapna?"

"Yeah?"

"What time do you get off?"

She checked her watch. "A few minutes."

"Join me then?" Claire wasn't sure if it was a demand or a request, but Sapna had already moved on to another table.

***

"Enjoying the food?" Sapna slid onto the bench opposite her.

"Yeah," Claire replied. "That's why I keep coming back here."

"Why are you here, Claire?" She leaned back, keeping her eyes on Claire.

"I told you. I'm passing through."

"And going where?" Claire didn't answer in time. "Because I've met people who are just passing through. They don't keep so many secrets. What are you looking for?"

Claire opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. "It's a secret."

Sapna chuckled, shaking her head. "Classic."

Claire laughed. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. You have no idea how many people tell me that when I ask."

"So you annoy all your customers?"

"Oh shut up," Sapna blushed.

"About what you said last time…"

"I thought we said we weren't going to talk about it."

"No," Claire smirked. "You said we weren't going to talk about it."

"Oh no. I've been found out." They laughed. Sapna leaned forward. "Why did you want to know about the murders?"

"Don't people usually want to know about something like murder?"

"You'd be surprised."

"I don't think I can tell you," Claire admitted.

"Again with the secrets." Sapna tutted.

"For some reason I feel like you have more."

"No way broken car girl. You're definitely the weirdo here."

Claire shook her head and laughed. "I'm not so sure about that."

***

Claire had originally planned to go back to the motel and continue searching for the vampire nest. But when she exited the diner, she noticed the couple from earlier that morning walking by, so she decided to follow them.

They continued on to their home and Claire took her spot near the window. She couldn't be seen from the road thanks to the dark. She couldn't hear them say anything until the doorbell rang and they invited someone in. Claire hadn't looked to see who it was.

"Thank you so much," Ray said. "You really don't have to do this, you know."

"Yes I do." Claire's heart stopped. It was Sapna's voice. "Anything I can do to help." Claire looked in through the window. Was Sapna a shifter too? Maybe she knew that Claire was a hunter. Maybe she wasn't helping because she had warned the vamps and was giving them time to get out.

Claire walked up to the door and knocked on it. Hard. She could tell that neither of the three was expecting guests because it took a while for them to open the door. It was Sapna, of course. She was very surprised. "Claire?"

"Hello." Claire didn't really feel amiable like she had a while ago when she was talking to Sapna. "Surprised?"

"I just didn't-"

"Expect me to be here? I could say the same about you." Claire pushed past her into the house.

"Claire-"

"Sapna."

"Uhh… Sapna?" Ellie said softly. "Please don't fight that girl."

"I'm not planning to, El."

"Honestly? I'm not as surprised as I thought I would be," Claire said. "You knew so much. All that secret keeping? I knew you knew more than you were letting on. But shifters? Come on." Sapna stood in stunned silence. "Unless they didn't tell you they were shifters. Which, honestly? I can say I'm not surprised about that."

"Shut up Claire," Sapna snapped. It was the first time Claire had seen her without that smile. "You think shifters are bad? They aren't. Yeah, a lot of them killed people. But that doesn't mean they're all evil. Ray and Ellie have been running for years. Because everywhere they go, some hunter shows up to kill them. I bring them food every night. Leftovers that would otherwise go in the trash. I help them because I know that hurting them is not right."

"Sapna-"

"No. I would have loved to just talk to you until you left this town. It would have been pleasant. A great break. But you noticed something different about them and followed them here? That's disgusting. It's creepy."

"I followed them because I heard them talking about how they were shifters. I thought maybe they knew something about the vampires-"

"The vampires? You're here for the… oh."

"What did you think?" Sapna looked at Ellie and Ray. "Oh. I'm sorry. I wasn't going to kill you guys. I just wanted information." Claire felt sort of guilty that she made Sapna feel endangered. She should have known that a shifter would not be open to working with a hunter.

"Wait a minute," Sapna look back at Claire. "I'm not a shifter."

"You're not?"

"No. Ellie and Ray are just my friends."

"Well."

"Yeah."

There was a long silence where Claire and Sapna just stared at each other.

"The tension in this room is frankly unbearable," Ray remarked. "I'm going to make some  
coffee. And then we can all sit down and you two can clear up your misconceptions." He looked pointedly at both of them.

***

As it turns out, Ray made great coffee. He and Ellie sat on the couch while Sapna sat on the loveseat across from Claire.

"So you're a hunter." Sapna looked accusingly at Claire.

"It's my first hunt on my own," Claire admitted.

"Right."

"How do you know about all this stuff?"

"Oh no." Sapna shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. "I'm not telling you all my secrets."

"That was the deal," Ray interjected.

"I don't seem to recall agreeing."

"Well okay." Claire raised her voice a bit. It felt like the tension in the room was choking her. "Just help me out?"

"Fine. What'd you want to know?"

"Do you know where the vampire nest is?"

"No."

"No lying, Sapna," Ray chided. If it was so easy for her to lie, what else had she lied about?

"Okay, fine. Yes. I know where the nest is."

"Can you tell me?"

"No. Well, yes. But I don't want to."

"You know they've been killing people, right?"

"I don't want to get involved again." Her voice broke at "again." "I just thought it would be over. But this life," she shifted in her seat, "this life never lets you leave."

"Believe me, I know." Claire leaned forward instinctively. "Look, you don't have to tell me, but I'm going to find them either way. It would just be easier for me if you told me."

Sapna finally looked her in the eye. "I'll show you." She stood up.

Claire followed suit and was about to thank her, but Ellie immediately stood up and rushed to her side. "Are you sure?" She looked very concerned. Claire wondered why. And again, she found herself wondering who exactly Sapna was.

"I can do this, El." She smiled again, "Besides," she looked at Claire, "I always knew I would run into a hunter one day." And then she removed a bag from behind the loveseat. "Let's go."

***

"I don't suppose you'll ever tell me who you are?" Claire asked. They had left Ray and Ellie's house and Claire was following Sapna to wherever she said the vampire nest was.

"I don't usually talk about my past," Sapna admitted. She twirled two gleaming swords in her hands. From the way she handled them, Claire was certain she had had previous experience with the weapons. "But you never know, Claire. I might just start trusting you enough someday."

Claire nodded. "I get it. I don't really talk about mine either."

Sapna smiled again. "It must have been a wild ride."

Claire thought about the way her father left to be Castiel's vessel, and how her mother died years later after searching for him. Castiel had told her they were both in heaven now. She hoped they were happy. Claire wasn't so sure about herself. "You have no idea."

Sapna did not reply. She walked in silence until they arrived at a dimly-lit house. Claire walked up to the window and expected her to follow, but Sapna stood on the sidewalk and shook her head. Inside, Claire saw about five vampires. She looked back at Sapna, who gestured for her to go inside. Claire wasn't sure she could fight them all off. Especially if she alerted them to her presence. But Sapna didn't seem like she was coming, so Claire went ahead alone.

So she took the back door. She thought she saw Sapna move around to a window at the front of the house, but she couldn't be sure. Perhaps Sapna was only planning to be backup. Or maybe she was planning to watch Claire get killed and then run away before the vamps found her. Claire was certain Sapna would not help her at first in either scenario.

She shook herself and remembered to focus on the vampires. They would probably realise soon that she was standing right outside. Although, they seemed pretty caught up talking to each other and taking turns draining the blood from their two victims.

The victims were in shackles. They looked like they were dying, which they probably were.  
"Please," one of them begged. It was a girl not much younger than Claire. Her hair was matte with blood and her voice was so croaky that Claire figured she probably hadn't had any food or water in days. If the vamps didn't drain her blood, she would surely die of starvation.

One of the vamps laughed. The others paid her no heed. Claire readied herself. She eyed the vampire closest to her, who was standing only a few feet away.

Then she lunged at him and cut his head clean off in one strike. She was able to cut the head off of another vamp in the time it took the others to react. Claire silently celebrated her success.

The next moment, she realised she had done it too soon. The remaining three vampires stood up in sync and rushed at her, baring their fangs. She tried to dodge, but she was nowhere as fast as the vampires. One of them grabbed her by the arm and yanked her backwards, sending her flying towards the wall. She hit it hard and fell with a thud. The vampire who threw her strolled leisurely towards her. Claire tried to sit up but her ribs screamed, so she ended up sprawled on the ground. Her knife was too far away for her to reach in her current condition.

"Well, the hunters have downgraded," one of them snickered. "Sending these amateurs on hunts."

"How should we kill her?" another asked. Claire couldn't tell who it was. Her vision was getting blurry and she wanted to scream from the pain. She took a shaky breath and tried to focus.

"We could drink her blood."

"But they don't feel pain if we bite them. We should cut her up and eat her." Claire doubled over as her vision turned to black.

"You're sounding like a werewolf."

"We could just kill her."

"She wouldn't suffer enough." Colour started to return to the world. She could see vague outlines of the vamps that were now surrounding her. Even if she hadn't been so badly injured, she wouldn't have been able to escape. Her knife lay several feet away.

"We could chain her up and drain her like these two." The vamp gestured at the prisoners. Her vision cleared. Claire felt panic welling up in her throat. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her torso was too much.

"You could what?"

Claire and the vamps turned to the source of the voice. Sapna was standing there; leaning on the doorframe so casually she might have been at a friend's house talking about the last episode of Grey's Anatomy. She had that ridiculous smile, like she knew something everyone else didn't. Like she had an inside joke with someone who wasn't present.

For the first time that night, Claire actually paid attention to Sapna. She wore ripped black jeans and black combat boots. She wore red flannel over a light pink shirt and her hair had pulled back into a French braid. Did she do that while she was waiting outside or was her hair already braided? And more importantly, when did she start looking so good? Claire couldn't seem to remember. Sapna twirled her swords in her hands again.

"Another hunter?" The vamps didn't seem impatient to knock her down.

Sapna looked amused. "Try again."

She pushed herself off the wall, looking like the vamps had just emptied a saltshaker into her coffee. She took a few quick steps forward, and decapitated the tallest one like his neck was made of playdoh. The other two split and came up behind her, but she was almost as fast as them. She stabbed the one on her left in the throat, and then ripped her sword through it. The last one cut her arm with his nails, but she spun like a ballerina and took his head off as well.

Claire stared at her open-mouthed. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

Sapna made her way towards Claire and helped her up. The amusement had vanished for her face. She looked more like a teenager now. "I've already told you quite enough about my past, broken car girl."

Claire winced as she stood up. "Please stop calling me that."

"No can do, broken car girl." Sapna slashed through the ropes that held the vampire victims upright.

They fell and Sapna helped them get comfortable on the floor. They kept mumbling "please" and "thank you" and "oh my god."

Sapna stood up and turned to Claire. "Call the police. Give them an anonymous tip." She pointed at the two victims on the floor. They were crying now. "Don't let them stand up. Their legs won't be able to take it."

Then she turned around and walked out of the front door.

"Wait!" Claire called, but Sapna had broken into a sprint, and Claire was sure she couldn't run that fast. Claire cursed.

She promised the two victims on the floor that help would be there soon and walked back to civilisation. She used a payphone to let the police know that there were two people in dire need of medical help waiting at that house. She hung up before they asked who she was.

***

Claire found herself back in the motel room again. After she showered, she called Jody up and told her about the events of that day.

"So you got your ass handed to you," Jody concluded.

"No!" Claire protested.

She heard Alex snorting. "Tell Claire that she definitely got her ass kicked and if that Sapna girl weren't there, she would've been vamp meat or something."

"I heard that."

Jody shushed Alex. "I knew I shouldn't have sent you out there on your own. You could have died."

"But I didn't."

"All because of that girl. Who knows what would have happened if she weren't there?" Pause. "Who is she, anyway?"

"I don't know. She wouldn't say."

"Well, she saved your life, so you'd better go and thank her."

"Yes, mom," Claire grumbled as she hung up.

She was snoring when her head hit the pillow.

***

Claire left the next morning. She went to the diner, but Sapna wasn't there. When she asked for her, Winston sighed and muttered something about teenagers. She ended up getting a bus ticket home. She did feel a little sad leaving without thanking Sapna, but Claire knew there was no way she could find her. She had considered, for a moment, going back to Ray and Ellie's house, but she felt she wouldn't be welcome there. So she turned her attention to the future.


	2. Chapter 2

Claire thought the vampire nest would be the last time she would see Sapna. So she was naturally surprised when she ran into her while returning home from a hunt a few months later.

"Sapna?"

The other girl paused for a moment, then kept walking. Claire was certain she had heard her.  
"Sapna," she repeated, louder this time. She tried to catch up, but Sapna was fast. "Hey, Sapna!"

She turned around and pulled Claire into an alleyway. Her grip was like iron and her fingers were cold. She glared a hole through Claire's skull. "It's Annalise."

"What?"

"My name," Sapna hissed, "is Annalise."

"I thought your name was Sapna."

She roughly let go of Claire's arm. "Some secrets are better left untold, broken car girl."

And then she turned and walked away, leaving Claire stunned for the second time.

This time, however, Claire was determined to find out what Sapna's deal was. So she followed her. She was sure Sapna was aware that she was being followed - the way she reacted at the vampire nest? Sapna was definitely a seasoned warrior. She probably knew to look over her shoulder and be aware of her surroundings.

Claire came to a stop outside the local diner. Sapna had gone inside. Claire pondered for a moment, then decided to follow her anyway. She found her in the back room, putting on an apron.

"Sapna," Claire hissed.

Sapna turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to talk to you," Claire said.

"I'm not interested."

"I want answers"

"You're not getting any," she snapped. "Claire, just let it go. It's not that hard to forget someone."

"I don't want to forget. I want to know who you are."

"Claire," she said softly, "just go."

Claire stood stubbornly in her spot, glaring at Sapna. "I'm not leaving until I know everything about you."

She expected Sapna to shout, or reply with a riddle, or just ignore her. But Sapna stared. "You're sure?"

Claire nodded. "Yes."

"Come on, then." She stood up and walked out the door. Claire followed hesitantly. Sapna walked slowly and didn't say a word. She didn't even look at Claire.

Claire was starting to wonder if Sapna was going to say anything, or if she was just planning to walk around until she lost Claire.

They came to the edge of the woods and Sapna stopped. "Claire, are you really sure?"

Claire nodded. "It can't be that bad."

Sapna thought about it for a while. "Well, I suppose my life isn't much weirder than yours."

"What do you mean?" Claire was taken aback.

"Your dad becoming a vessel for Castiel and everything? Can't have been easy on you."

Claire stepped in front of Sapna angrily. "How the hell do you know that?" she demanded.

Sapna quirked an eyebrow. "I keep up to date."

"Who are you?"

She looked around to check if anyone was watching, then proceeded into the woods. "I usually don't tell people, but I feel like the only way I'll get rid of you is killing you. Besides, you're cute."

"You think I'm cute?"

"Humans are ridiculous."

"Hey! What do you mean humans are ridiculous? You say that like you aren't - oh." Claire stared at her.

Sapna kept walking. "You look surprised."

"Well, then what are you?"

The trees ended suddenly. The sky had turned dark in a matter of seconds. The clearing they were in was deserted except for them. In front of them stood a big structure that looked Greek, but Claire wasn't sure. She didn't know anything about architecture.

"This," Sapna gestured around her, "was one of my father's temples."

"Hold up." Claire raised her hands in a time-out gesture. "What?"

Sapna laughed at Claire's confusion, and a fire flickered to life in a nearby hearth. She walked closer to the temple. Claire was wondering if Sapna was some kind of monster and instantly regretted not bringing a weapon. "My father is Ares."

"Ares?"

"Greek god of war."

Claire was about to reply, but Sapna lightly touched one of the pillars of the shrine. It instantly started mending itself. Chipped away rock reattached itself. Where there was no rubble, pieces of stone appeared out of nowhere and filled in the cracks. Dust disappeared. Leaves and dirt blew away into the wind. When it stopped, the shrine looked like it was newly built. Maybe the way it had looked back when the Greeks first built it.

If Claire's mouth hadn't been hanging open before, it definitely was now. "How did you do that?"  
Sapna looked wistfully up at the columns, and then sat down, looking out. "It's not hard. But it won't last long. Just as long as I'm here."

Claire followed suit. "So, what? You're a demigod or something?"

"That exactly. There aren't many of us these days. The gods… well no one worships them anymore." The ceiling rumbled. "Sorry, dad," Sapna called in. "But it's true… when the Roman Empire came to an end, so did the gods. They still exist, of course, but not as they used to.

"Gods need humans to worship them - that's how they get their power. The more the worshippers, the stronger they are. In the old days?" She shrugged. "They ruled the world. But people are forgetting them now. Less sacrifices. Less prayers. Stuff like that. So they don't really… visit. But every once in a while, someone catches their eye and they have babies. And that's us. Just accidents."

"You're not an accident," Claire argued.

"The only thing I'm good at is fighting, and that's because of my dad."

"You're compassionate. You took Ray and Ellie under your wing."

She stared ahead, and snapped her fingers. Fires blazed to life all around them. "It's getting dark."

"Easy for you to deal with," Claire noted.

"Yeah." She pointed at a star blinking in the sky. "The scientists named it 2M-22-something. My father, he calls it Aliya."

"Aliya?"

"My mother. She was a hunter. Really good at it too. Maybe that's why my dad fell in love with her."

Claire sensed something was wrong. She tentatively put her hand on Sapna's knee. Sapna tensed slightly but she didn't move. "What happened?"

"Got killed on the job." Her voice was dejected, like she had told this story so many times she didn't feel anything about it anymore.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," she turned to look at me, "dad says she's in Elysium. So she's probably happy."

"Elysium? I thought it was heaven."

"What happens after death is what you believe in. Mom believed in dad, so she's in Elysium. If she believed in rebirth, she would have been reborn. I mean, you can get reborn if you achieve Elyisum. But dad says she's waiting for me."

"That's…" Claire couldn't think of the right word.

"Weird?" Claire nodded. "Tell me about it."

"Castiel told me my parents are in heaven together," Claire confessed. "I don't really know what that's like, but I guess they're happy."

"That's what matters," Sapna confirmed. They sat together for a while in a comfortable silence.

"So what's with the name changing?" Claire asked finally. "I mean Annalise?" Claire giggled.

"Ha ha ha," Sapna mocked, and then burst into giggles herself. 

"I'm serious," Claire deadpanned.

"I don't usually get close to people. They start asking questions. And I don't-"

"Like opening up to people. Yeah."

Sapna sighed. "I move around a lot. Pick an alias, get a job, then leave in a few months. My real name… I haven't used it in a very long time."

"So Sapna…?"

"Is my favourite alias. In Hindi, it means dream. I guess that's why I chose it."

"What's your real name?"

She turned away. Claire was afraid she had overstepped. "I don't like to think about it. Reminds me of my mother."

"It's okay." Claire stared ahead. It was completely dark. They would have been blind if not for Sapna's magic fires. She thought about everything she had learned about Sapna in the last few hours. Her hunter instincts told her that demigods were monsters, but Sapna looked like anything but a monster. She looked fragile in the firelight. Claire wondered how many people had been killed because of how they were born instead of what they did. Maybe the hunters were the monsters.

"Hope you're not planning to kill me," Sapna joked.

"I would never kill you."

"You wouldn't succeed," Sapna teased. "I would kill you first."

Claire feigned disbelief. "What? No way."

"Please, car girl. You had your ass handed to you. If it weren't for me, you'd be dead."

Claire sighed. "Unfortunately, you have a point."

Sapna smiled contentedly. "I'm always right. It's why you love me."

"I don't love you."

"No? Not even a little?" Claire realised she was teasing her as she broke into a wider grin. This time, it didn't look like she was hiding anything, but she definitely still looked smug.

Claire's breath caught. For the first time, she understood how Sapna could have been the daughter of a god. She was beautiful. When they first met, Claire definitely thought she was pretty, but maybe she hadn't been paying attention. Sapna's skin was flawless. Her wide brown eyes glinted like she knew she was better than Claire. After hearing her talk for so long, Claire doubted that was the case, but it was a good look on her nonetheless.

"Sapna, I-" Claire faltered when Sapna's expression changed to one of confusion.

She gently rested her hand on Claire's shoulder. "What's wrong?" She spoke like she was talking to a wounded animal. Her tone was so calming that Claire's heart slowed down. But the butterflies in her stomach didn't.

Claire's eyes flitted down to Sapna's lips. She mumbled something unintelligible.

Sapna caught on. Her hand moved to cup Claire's face. Claire breathed in and moved closer. Sapna's eyes were already closed. Claire noted the way the light fell on her nose and closed her own. 

They kissed for a moment. It wasn't magical or anything. No sparks flew. But when she pulled away, Claire was happy beyond words. "I really like you," she whispered.

"I know," Sapna's tone was cheerful like they had just gone bar hopping. "That's probably why you kissed me."

Claire slapped her arm. "You ruined the mood."

Sapna grinned. "I like to think I enhanced it."

"Demigods are ridiculous."

There was a loud rumble from the inside of the temple. "I think you pissed my dad off."

"Oh no."

"Well, it's either that, or he's telling me he approves of our relationship."

"Oh my god. We kissed at your dad's temple. He's going to kill me or something."

Sapna laughed and stood up. "He'll be fine. I'm sure we're not the first people to kiss here. And I'm his daughter."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Come on." The laughter was fading from Sapna's eyes. "We should get back to the other side of the Atlantic." She offered her hand to Claire, who took it.

"I still don't understand how you did that."

"Well I'm not telling you that. It's a secret."

Claire chuckled, but stopped when she saw the look on Sapna's face. "What's wrong?"

"When you get home, don't tell them. The Winchesters - I don't trust them."

"But you haven't done anything wrong."

"They're the most famous hunters in the world. I really don't want to encounter them."

"I won't ever see you again."

"Oh, that is up to the Fates. Or chance. Or whatever you believe in. I'm sure we'll meet again."

The pair walked in the sparse hills until woods appeared out of nowhere. Soon, they were back in America. Sapna walked back to the town with Claire, then said goodbye and left. Claire wondered when they would meet again, then returned to her motel.

* * *

The next time Claire and Sapna met was about a year later.

The Winchesters were hunting a ghost. Claire, Jody, and Alex were in town on completely unrelated business, but they had ended up staying in the same motel. Claire was feeling good. Well, good-ish. Jody and Alex were talking animatedly about something on the couch. Claire was glad that the Winchesters had found a ghost in this small town. She wanted something to do and she figured hunting was better than bar hopping or whatever else she could do here. She wasn't even sure this place had its own police department.

Unfortunately for Claire, Jody and Alex had convinced her to stay in, and she couldn't sneak out because they were right there.

"This is so boring," Claire complained. "Can we please do something interesting?"

"You heard Sam and Dean," Alex said. "They're handling it. Besides, we're here for fun."

"We're in the middle of nowhere." And it was true. There wasn't anything mildly interesting in this town apart from the ghost that was about to die at the hands of the Winchesters.

"We are in southern Ohio," Castiel said.

Claire jumped out of her skin, then turned to see him standing behind her like he'd been there all along. Judging from Alex and Jody's expressions, he hadn't.

"Castiel!" Jody exclaimed. She looked like she was about to punch him for appearing out of nowhere like that.

He didn't respond other than taking a seat on one of the single beds.

"Great," Claire said dejectedly. "Anyone want to do anything fun?"

"We could go out for dinner," Jody offered.

Claire snorted. "That isn't exactly my idea of fun."

"We aren't going hunting, Claire."

"We have nothing better to do," she argued.

"Yeah we do," Alex said. "Dinner. Come on, I think I saw a diner a few blocks down."

Alex and Jody stood up, looking far more thrilled about the prospect of eating than Claire. She complained, but stood up and got her coat.

It was chilly outside and a gentle breeze was blowing, feeling like ice cubes on Claire's face. The moon glowed faintly behind thin clouds. No stars were visible that night. The walk was short, but it felt long because they walked slowly. No one said a word.

The diner was much warmer than the outside cold. Claire graciously took her coat off and sat down at a table. Ever since she met Sapna in that diner all those months ago, she thought of Sapna every time she entered a diner.

She thought of Sapna again this time. If she were in town, she'd be staying away from the hunting. Claire frequented the diners in every town she ended up travelling to in the hopes that she would run into Sapna.

"What do you want to get, Claire?" Jody asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'll just have a cheeseburger and fries," Claire said.

"Cheeseburger and fries," the waiter repeated, nodding and writing something down. "Anything else?" Claire shook her head. He nodded and walked away, promising to bring their food back quickly.

"Are you looking for someone?" Alex asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"No," Claire said. Yes. "Why would I be looking for someone?"

"You just look like you're looking for someone."

"I'm waiting for my food."

"I don't believe you."

"Girls!" Jody exclaimed. "I think that's enough."

They fell silent, but Alex gave Claire a look like 'we aren't done talking about this.'

Castiel looked at Claire inquiringly. "Are you looking for someone, Claire?"

"No!" Claire exclaimed. She focused on the salt shaker so they 

Their food arrived soon enough. Claire dug in, hoping that would get everyone else to shut up. They did, but Cas kept looking at her like he knew she was hiding something.

"Clotho has always had a grudge against me." It was a familiar voice - one that Claire didn't think she would hear again.

Sapna was dressed in jeans and a tank top and had an apron around her waist. She looked pretty much the same as the last time Claire had seen her, but her hair was a bit longer. She'd gotten a tattoo on her right arm. Claire couldn't read it; it was in another language. It looked like Greek. Her nametag read 'Madison' in capital letters. She wore the same amused smile she usually did.

"Sapna?"

"Shh. I'm undercover." She pointed to her nametag and winked.

"You don't really look like a Madison, no offense."

"I'm offended." She smiled like she wasn't really offended. "See you soon, Novak."

And then she turned and disappeared so fast that Claire wondered if she had hallucinated her.

"Okay," Alex was smiling, "So you were looking for her."

"I didn't even know she would be here," Claire said. It was true. She had no idea. She somehow kept running into Sapna.

"Did she say… Clotho?" Cas frowned. "As in one of the three Fates?"

"I don't know," Claire said.

"Clotho," Jody confirmed. "Is that important?"

"I just don't know how Clotho would have a grudge against her," Cas said. He looked at Claire like he expected her to answer.

Claire shrugged. "Don't look at me."

Jody leaned forward. "How do you know her?"

"She helped on that hunt, remember?"

Alex's eyes brightened. "Oh, that one! She totally saved you from having your ass kicked."

"Yep," Sapna popped the 'p' as she slid into the booth next to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I work here. Kinda obvious." She pointed at her apron, which she was still wearing.

"I mean what are you doing in this town?"

She shrugged. "I got arrested."

"What for?"

"I broke this guy's hand because he tried to steal my purse."

"You don't have a purse," Alex noted.

Sapna grinned. "Not anymore."

Cas looked at her curiously. "How do you know Clotho?"

"It's a long story, Castiel," she replied, her expression turning sober. "One best left untold."

"You know who I am?"

She ignored him and turned to Claire. "Are you hunting again?"

"Don't you know the answer?"

She smiled. "Yeah, but it's not exactly fun to have conversations when you just tell people about themselves.

Claire nodded. "I guess I get it. But yeah, I'm not hunting. It's the-"

"Winchesters. They were in here earlier."

The bell chimed, announcing the arrival of the two Winchesters. Sapna stood up to leave, but they had already spotted her and were walking towards the table.

"Speak of the devil," Sapna murmured, along with a string of words that Claire didn't understand.

Cas's eyes widened in surprise. "I haven't heard most of those words since the Trojan war."

Jody looked on in confusion. "I thought the Trojan war was a myth."

"Don't believe everything you hear," Sapna said.

"Who's this?" Dean asked as he walked up to the table.

"Claire's girlfriend," Alex said gleefully.

"She's not my-" Claire started.

"I'm not her girlfriend," Sapna growled. She curled her fingers into a fist and a couple a few tables over started screaming at each other. Claire felt the urge to stand up and punch Alex.

Sam looked at them, then back at Sapna like he was connecting the dots. He pointed at the table. "You did that?"

Sapna took a deep breath and one of the men stopped short of punching the other. The other man dropped his hands.

"Sorry," Sapna said, but she didn't look very sorry. The knives on the table clattered like they were just waiting to jump up and move to her defence.

"Who are you?" Dean's eyes were narrow, but his tone sounded nice enough.

"No one," Sapna smiled through her teeth, then turned to leave.

"Sapna-" Claire started to get up.

Sapna turned to give her a brief warning look, and the Winchesters both reached for their guns.

"Don't bother," Sapna said.

Sam drew his gun on her, but it clattered out of his hand. The humans didn't seem to notice.

"Who are you?" Dean repeated.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Sapna said to Claire.

"Don't blame me, Sapna. This is not on me. You're the one who was always desperate to avoid the Winchesters."

"Why did you want to avoid us?" Sam took on a more relaxed posture, but his muscles were still visibly tense.

"Nothing," Sapna snapped. "Just nothing. I'm going to go now. Just forget you ever saw me."  
Sapna turned and started walking away, going slowly on purpose. Dean produced a knife from his belt and threw it at her. His mouth dropped in shock when he saw that it was knocked out of the air.  
Sapna wheeled around, a mask of calm on her face. "You can't kill me with weapons. My father is the god of war. I have full control over anything that is a weapon or is being used as one in a particular moment." She waved her hand to make her point and a butter knife flew into her hand. "You see? It's useless. Goodbye."

"Hold up," Dean said, relaxing and raising his arm, gesturing for her to wait. "You're a demigod?"

"That does make sense," Cas nodded like Sapna and Dean hadn't just been trying to kill each other. "That's how you know Clotho."

"That hag," Sapna sniffed. "Landing me in such an… unfavourable situation."

"Unfavourable?" Claire laughed. "You sound like one of those old people on the T.V. Or a T.V. villain who has just had his plan revealed and realised that he's about to die."

"You finding this funny, Novak?" Sapna raised her eyebrow in question. "You think this is a joke?"

"I mean," Claire cleared her throat. "It's not like they tried to kill… okay fine. They tried to kill you. But they haven't killed you yet and they aren't even trying to anymore. Also, you haven't tried to kill them yet."

"If I wanted to kill them, I would have already killed them," Sapna told Claire honestly. "Really, you need to keep up. When has anyone I wanted to kill gotten away?" Sapna's voice dropped and she looked away from Claire.

Claire thought back to the vampire nest. "Okay, so you were really good when I saw you, but those were vampires. You did good. You killed monsters."

"I am a monster, Claire. By hunter standards, anyway. I killed perhaps the only people who know what it is like to be one as well."

"They were draining people's blood."

Sapna looked down at her arm and shrugged. "Wouldn't have done them much good to drain mine."

"What?"

"Sorry, that was off-topic."

Claire stepped forward and took Sapna's hands in her own. "Listen, you don't need to be afraid any more."

"I'm not afraid."

"You sure seem it. And really? I know what it's like to be afraid. But I bet you already knew that."

"Yeah."

"Just - listen. You can let your guard down. They won't hurt you. You don't need to run anymore."

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Sapna asked. But she had a smile on her face and she leaned up to kiss Claire.


End file.
